


Sons and Daughters Go Hand in Hand

by apple9131999



Series: The States of America [18]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: AIDS crisis, HIV/AIDS, Historical Hetalia, M/M, Minor Character(s) Death, Period-Typical Homophobia, terminal illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 20:50:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6769420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apple9131999/pseuds/apple9131999
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I have a train to catch," he snarled.</p><p>New York frowned, unimpressed. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Connecticut's really upset," New York said.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sons and Daughters Go Hand in Hand

_May 28, 1986- Boston, Massachusetts_

* * *

He smirked at the receptionist, a quick wink thrown her way that had stopped making her blush three months ago. He walked down the familiar hallway, stopping in to say hello to a few of his friends. He paused in the doorway of Kevin’s room.

Danny was sitting by his bedside, his face buried in his hands. Owen looked down the hall and felt his mouth twist, but he stepped in, placing a warm hand on Danny’s shoulder.

The man jerked under his hand and whipped around to look at Owen, relaxing once he recognized him.

“How is he?” Owen asked, even though he knew the answer. Kevin was pale, sweaty, and Danny looked close to tears.

Danny shook his head. “He’s sleeping. He was coughing hard yesterday. His landlord-” Danny stopped and shook his head. “His landlord said that his rent is overdue, and I don’t know if I should pay it. He can’t pay for this and the hospital...and I don’t know if…”

Owen tightened his grip on Danny’s shoulder. He didn’t need to hear the end of that sentence. “Want to go for drinks tonight when Annette comes in?”

Danny nodded morosely. “Have you seen Todd yet?”

Owen shook his head. “I was on my way.”

Danny looked up then, his brown eyes shining with a sheen of unshed tears. “Tell him I say hi if he’s awake.”

“I’ll tell him anyway,” Owen promised and left./p>

* * *

Todd’s room was a single, unlike Kevin’s double but Richard had been gone for a week now. Owen had, once Todd had been admitted, taken care of his hospital bill. Alfred wouldn’t blink once at Massachusetts taking more money than normal. He only had to worry about Samantha and Victoria.

He was surprised he had evaded the two of them for six months now. But Samantha had given him a Look when he declined to join them in Windsor. He was screwed when they came up in the summer.

Todd looked small in the large hospital bed, but his gray eyes were bright as the sun sparkled in them. Owen had to pause in the doorway because his breath was gone from him. How Todd looked so beautiful while sick, Owen didn’t know.

His smile was bittersweet as he knocked on the door jam, leaning against the other side, like he had done months ago when Todd had been getting ready for one of their outings.

Todd turned his head and a bright smile spread across his face and one hand moved weakly, beckoning Owen over- like he had that one night that Owen had to go back to his house because Sarah, Sylvia, and Taylor were visiting. (He’d been late, meeting his sisters at the cafe, but they only laughed at his hair, ribbing him about who the lucky girl had been).

Owen walked over and took his hand, shaking it in greeting, making Todd smile brighter.

“Do you feel sick?” Todd asked, a thumb brushing gently over the back of Owen’s hand. He asked this every time Owen came to see him, determined to make sure that Owen wouldn’t get sick.

Owen shook his head and answered the subsequent questions prematurely, “No tiredness, no dramatic weight loss, no fever, don’t worry, darling.”

Todd hummed, smiling at Owen with so much fondness that for the second time Owen was breathless. “Are you lying to make me feel better?”

“No, I’m not sick at all.” Can’t get whatever it is that Todd and Kevin and Richard and James and Jeffrey and Keith had. And if he could, he couldn’t die from it like Richard, James, Jeffrey, and Keith did. “How are you feeling today?”

Todd hummed again as he tightened his grip on Owen’s hand. “I threw up this morning, but the nurse was nice about it.”

They had an issue with mean nurses previously, so one of Owen’s friends, Annette, had gotten a transfer here and looked over his friends. If his new nurse was nice- or more likely just decent- then Owen wouldn’t have to get all uppity like he had with the last one.

“Danny says hi.”

“Tell him I say hi too,” Todd said, sleepily, yawning widely.

“Tired?”

“Mmhmm. And you just got here, I’m sorry.”

“Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Todd nodded and turned his head to look at the window, his hand still in Owen’s. Owen smiled.

* * *

Danny started crying the minute Owen opened a bottle of beer for him. “I’m scared, Owen.”

Owen handed him the beer and sat next to him, knees just touching. “I know the feeling,” he said in response.

Danny wiped angrily at his eyes. “I don’t know if I should pay for his apartment. If I don’t, and he pulls through, then I don’t know what’ll happen. He can’t live with me. My parents would kill him and me. But if I pay for it, and he doesn’t- I don’t have enough money to pay for both of our rents for however long.”

“He could stay with me. I have the room.” Owen knew that there was no way for Kevin to pull through- it hadn’t happened yet, but he wasn’t going to squash Danny’s hope because if he thought that way about Todd...he wouldn’t be able to do it anymore.

Danny frowned at him. “What about your family? Wouldn’t they notice?”

“I’m good at avoiding them. And I own this house.”

“Don’t your sisters come up for the summer?”

“Yes, but I can convince them not to. They haven’t been to my other sister’s house in a long time. I’m sure Sarah would love to entertain the two of them.” Victoria and Samantha were going to kill him. He’s already been pushing his luck by not spending Christmas and New Years with the rest of them and by not going to Windsor with them.

But it’s all worth it to see the smile that Danny sends his way, thankful and exhausted all at one. “Thank you Owen.”

* * *

“You’ve been acting weird,” New York said when Massachusetts tried to sidestep him at their- _unfortunately_ mandatory- summit meeting in New Jersey. He had been bouncing his leg all throughout the meeting and asked very little questions and didn’t try to heckle New York at all, even when he clearly saw Connecticut go and stand with him and New Jersey instead of him and Rhode Island when the meeting ended.

He had a train back home fifteen minutes after the meeting ended and he kept on checking his watch while trying to talk to Rhode Island- she eventually rolled her eyes and walked away, telling him just to go if he couldn’t stand to be around his own family anymore. New York had caught him just before he made it out of the room.

Massachusetts glared at him and tried to walk around him once again. He could just zap himself back to Massachusetts, but it would make him exhausted at the very least and flat out knock him out at the worst. And he wanted to see Todd, Danny, and Kevin before he fell asleep. New York stepped in front of him. “I have a train I need to catch,” he snarled.

New York frowned, unimpressed. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Connecticut’s really upset,” he said and then moved.

* * *

Kevin died a week later, two days after his lease ended with his landlord. Connecticut had been over at the time, just visiting, because occasionally Owen recognized that he was being a dick and he knew that Samantha had missed him, and it was she who opened the door to a distressed Danny.

Samantha had called up for Owen, who was sitting in his room, reading a book she had brought with her. He took the stairs two at a time when he heard Danny trying to apologize and leave. Samantha was standing in the doorway, her long orange hair glowing in the mid-afternoon light. Owen pushed past her and saw Danny.

“Sam, go home.”

“What?” Samantha responded waspishly.

“Go home,” Owen said curtly.

Samantha glared at him, but Danny spoke up, “Don’t throw her out on my behalf, Owen. I’ll be-”

“Coming inside right now,” Owen cut across, reaching out an arm to tug Danny into the house. “Samantha was just heading home.”

Samantha glared at him again and stomped off to get her bag- and probably her book and damn, Owen was just getting into it. Owen looked at Danny and didn’t even need to ask. He had felt the whisper of Kevin’s name while he had been reading and he hadn’t thought that it was Danny’s Kevin, but evidently it was. “I am so sorry,” Owen said, feeling his own grief build up, tears pricking in his eyes as he hugged Danny tight.

Danny stayed the night in Victoria’s newly made-up bed. Owen felt crushed as he left a note on the bedside table.

_Going to the hospital._

_- ~~M~~ O_

* * *

Todd was wide-awake when Owen arrived- the nurse at the reception desk had only nodded when Owen begged to see him even though it was past visiting hours. Annette was his nurse and when she saw Owen barge into the room, she finished up with the check-up. She paused at Owen’s side and he threw his arms around the woman, hugging her tight. She nodded against his chest and batted his hands away. She closed the door behind her.

Owen surged forward to Todd’s side- the fool was already crying as he held out his arms for Owen. Owen barreled into his embrace, breathing harshly. Todd was babbling.

“-please, dear God, please, Owen, tell me- tell me-”

“I’m okay. I’m healthy. I- I- God, Todd-”

Todd pulled back and kissed him fast as a snake on his lips and Owen could have sobbed from the contact- they hadn’t been able to have anything like that since Todd had been admitted.

_-“His last words were, ‘Don’t cry, Dan. I’m happy.’ God I hope he meant I love you, because that all I meant when I told him that he was going to be okay, that he’d see heaven. I wish he hadn’t died there, y’know. Nothing as unforgiving as white sheets and nurses who are always breathing down our necks so he couldn’t even tell me he loved me. God I hope he did.”-_

“I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay,” Todd babbled when he leaned away, their noses still touching. Owen gently lowered him back to his mattress. “I thought- your sister?”

“She went home early,” he said smiling as he smoothed Todd’s hair back. “I love you.”

Todd looked startled. “Keep your voice down.”

“Please just tell me once,” Owen begged, dutifully lowering his voice.

Todd reached up a sweaty hand to card through Owen’s untamable curls. “I love you, too.”

* * *

Todd died two years later, a week after their anniversary. Owen had taken him home as a birthday gift, having Annette visit them to keep Todd comfortable. Danny got sick just before Todd died, but he refused to stay at the hospital and instead went to live with Owen. He died seven months after Todd. Annette and Joanne- her girlfriend- went with Owen to each funeral and held him as he cried his heart out.

Samantha and Victoria didn’t speak to him until a month after Danny died when he showed up in Providence and sat through a rainstorm because he lost his keys and they were in Windsor. He wasn’t able to return to Massachusetts for the summer for many years until his people passed the marriage equality law.

He visited Todd’s grave, and then Kevin and Danny’s and he hoped and prayed they were happy in their Heaven. If he stood still enough that day, he thought he felt a hand in his and a kiss stolen in a hospital bed from an invalid that no one else would give the time of day.


End file.
